


I Hope This Helps You See (Signed Sincerely Me)

by donniedont



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Inspired by Music, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Polyamory, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-27
Updated: 2014-05-27
Packaged: 2018-01-26 19:26:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1699826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/donniedont/pseuds/donniedont
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A music shuffle challenge set to Morgan, Reid, and Garcia being in a poly relationship.  Features trans woman Garcia, agender Reid, and very mild spoilers for season 9.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Hope This Helps You See (Signed Sincerely Me)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hardisonparker](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hardisonparker/gifts).



> Hello welcome to my first Criminal Minds fic! This is inspired by one of those fun challenges where you put your music on shuffle and write little pieces while the song is playing. Some notes, I suppose:
> 
> 1) This is dedicated to the beautiful Brady aka [nonbinaryparker](http://nonbinaryparker.tumblr.com) on Tumblr. I said I'd do a music challenge piece set to Morgan/Reid ages ago and then decided to make it about Morgan/Reid/Garcia, a beloved ot3 of ours, instead.
> 
> 2) These drabbles have several headcanons operating within them. Reid has schizoaffective disorder and is agender (uses they/their pronouns), Garcia is a trans woman, and Morgan is a question mark of sorts. All three of them are some degree of not straight.
> 
> 3) The mild season 9 spoiler can be avoided if you skip the drabble entitled "Some Things Are Meant To Be"

**“Sins of My Youth” by Neon Trees (Morgan/Reid)**

 

There’s something weird about actually spending the night with someone, even if you’ve known them for years.  

Especially when the person he’s spending the night with is probably one of the weirder people he’s come in contact with.  

Because they have habits that aren’t terribly surprising, but it’s still… weird to see them taking place.  There’s the laying out of clothes, which is normal enough, but then Morgan witnesses the bizarre world of Reid’s sock drawer.  Two socks, horribly mismatched, are fished out of the depths of argyle, dinosaurs, and stripes and laid on top of a collared shirt possibly matched to a sweater vest and dress pants.  And Morgan realizes that this is the way it’s going to be every night, isn’t it?  
“What’s it like when you get a new pair?  Do you intentionally mix them up?” Morgan teased, inspecting the blue polka dotted sock and its mate, a grey one with bright orange patches at the toes and the heels.

Reid just rolled their eyes and continued their evening ritual.

 

*

**“Bones” by The Killers (Morgan/Reid/Garcia)**

 

Garcia insists, and because their worlds actually revolve around Garcia, they say yes before they really realize what they’ve just agreed to.

“You’re going to love swing dancing!” she exclaimed, sighing dreamily.  She was dressed in some cute throwback to the forties complete with her hair pulled back into victory rolls.

Reid and Morgan stared at each other, cringing the slightest bit.  Morgan wasn’t going to admit it, but it was sort of worth going to not only see Garcia dressed to the nines, but to see Reid dressed in their own dancing outfit.  Garcia insisted that they wore their new black pleated skirt and whaddya know, it was a great idea.

“We might even meet new people!  Well, you better, because you have to switch partners,” Garcia noted, “Actually, being a trio like us, we were going to have to at least get another partner, anyway.”

“But I want to dance with you two only,” Reid mumbled, checking their makeup in the side mirror.

 

*

**“Bang the Doldrums” by Fall Out Boy (Reid/Garcia-centric)**

 

Typical fights between Reid and Garcia were stressful, but manageable.  New Who versus Old Who.  Whether or not Puella Magi Madoka Magica a respectful deconstruction of the magical girl genre.  Is it possible to get away with wearing a skirt at a con without hemming it (the answer, as far as Morgan can tell, is always “Reid get your ass back here I am hemming that immediately”).

But the “actual fights,” if you could pile up which ones are actual and which ones aren’t, are difficult to navigate.  Because they’re usually operating within a space Morgan can never allow himself to be apart of.

Whether or not the place they’re going will be a safe place for Reid to wear a dress.  Should Reid text Garcia what is going on when they go out alone. Reid hurling all the statistics Garcia worries about back at her with a stern, cold, “I know the risks now stop infantilizing me.”

And Morgan knows he will never understand, but he’ll try his best to hear both sides and hope it will resolve as quickly as the typical fights.  But they usually don’t.

 

*

**“Brown Brown Brown” by Paul Baribeau (Reid/Garcia)**

 

Garcia doesn’t like to admit it, but she’s smitten by Reid.  Sure, Morgan is easy to love and she’s so lucky that after way too many years she has him in her bed more often than not.  But Reid?  That’s a later development.

Because yeah, they’re a challenge to deal with.  But after awhile, she’s utterly charmed by the brown eyes she could occasionally meet eyes with.  The sugary kisses that she was able to catch when she caught them passing by her lair.  The soft brown hair she got to run her fingers through to pull their hair back, because they still weren’t very good at that.

She was lucky.  She’d never tell them that too often (wouldn’t want to inflate that genius ego), but she could at least admit it to herself.

 

*

**“Lies” by Billy Talent (Morgan/Reid)**

“Schizoaffective disorder?” Morgan asked, “How long have you been sitting on that?”

“What difference does it make?”

“Well, I’m going to assume it’s been awhile.  And I’m going to assume we’ve been together for a good portion of that while with you knowing that.”  He rubbed his head, taking a deep breath.  “Look, I’m not going to tell you anything, because I’m sure it’ll be bullshit coming from someone who isn’t mentally ill.  But if that was your big bomb to make me break up with you, it’s not going to work.”

Reid scrubbed their glasses against their shirt and made a frustrated groan before they put them back on their nose.  “Why not?”

“Because that’s a bullshit excuse.  You didn’t leave your mom when she was diagnosed, so why should I?”

“That’s the thing,” they said, gritting their teeth, “I did.  Everybody just keeps lying and saying I didn’t.  But eventually I did.”

 

*

**“Saw It On Your Keyboard” by Hellogoodbye (Reid/Garcia)**

 

“How did the con go?” JJ asked.  Garcia knew she meant well, even if she wouldn’t get any of the references if she went into detail about her experience.

“It went so well!” Garcia exclaimed, fumbling through her bag.  At least she had something she could show JJ with little explanation.  “Wait, wait, wait, I have a really cute picture to show you.”  She pulled it out, already fixed to a wire clip with a bright pink base.  “They had a photobooth!”

JJ grabbed the picture, carefully keeping her hand on the base and grinned.  It was a photobooth strip of Garcia and Reid in cosplay, making silly faces.  “Is Spence always like this at cons?”

“When they get in character, yeah.  Well.  They’re not really in character in these pictures, aside from the first one.  But isn’t it cute?  I think I’m going to put it by my main keyboard so I can always see it.”

JJ smiled.  “You both seem to have a great time together.”  She finally passed the photo back.  “I’m so happy for you two.”

Garcia laughed.  It was as much of a recognition they were going to get at a job that they technically weren’t allowed to date within.  She was certainly going to take it.

 

*

**“Some Things are Meant to Be” by Megan McGinnis and Sutton Foster (From the musical Little Women) (Morgan/Reid/Garcia)**

 

Garcia copes with accessories.  Oh, you got shot in the  neck?  Well!  There’s plenty of high collared tops we can look at.  Scarves, maybe?  Let’s go shopping!  And ignore the gaping hole in our team for awhile.

Morgan copes with what Garcia refers to as “poly blob activities.”  Movie nights that are Reid’s choice (yes, even the foreign films without subtitles).  Brunch they’re usually too tired for, but they still dress nice during.  Going to the park and reading respective books, side-by-side.  At least doing these things will make new memories, as opposed to being distracted with the old ones that nearly led to death..

And Reid just… goes with it.  Because things are going to be okay.  They’re used to being left and they can’t really blame Blake.  They’re texting each other, actually.  When they’re shopping, watching movies, eating brunch, and reading books.

“Just let them shower you with affection for awhile.  Remember that they almost lost you,” Blake texts them at one point after a very long group hug when the third movie in their marathon ended.

Reid nods, even though she can’t see it.  Because their life is more than just their own anymore.  It’s also Morgan and Garcia’s.

 

*

**“Stand There Until You’re Sober” by Bomb the Music Industry! (Reid/Garcia)**

 

The worst part about being with someone is letting them into their apartment after a particularly bad depressive episode.

Because it was one thing to deal with a depressive episode on their own.  Eventually they would wake up and realize that they haven’t done the dishes in two weeks, their laundry somewhere around three, and they’re thankful their landlord likes them, because they may have missed a rent check.

But Garcia insisted and they’re still not very good at confrontations on this topic.  So they let her in.

“What the hell happened here, baby genius?” she asked, bending down to pick up a crossword puzzle from, oh no, a month ago.

“Sorry,” they reply, “I just… I had a… rough patch.”

And it opened up a flood of questions.  Well, Reid expected it to.  But Garcia just nodded her head.  “Do you want a cleaning buddy?”

“I don’t need one.  I usually get everything figured out in a day or two after these.”

“Bet you I can shave it down to about half a day.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

Garcia grabbed a stack full of crossword puzzles and exclaimed, “Watch me!”

 

*

**“Dear Jaime…” by Hellogoodbye (Morgan/Reid/Garcia)**

 

It’s scrawl and Reid knows it as soon as they look at the paper after writing it.  It’s Ivy League-level scrawl and they don’t want to type it out of fear of it losing its personal aspects, but they might have to.

Because it’s been five months, three weeks, and three days since their arrangement between Morgan and Garcia began.  In four days it will be exactly six months, a length of time they never actually reached with anyone, at least with the formalities of being in a relationship.

So they want to write letters to both their partners.  Because they know they aren’t the best at articulating how much they love both of them.  They aren’t particularly great at articulating being in love half the time, but once they stop deflecting with their knowledge for a couple seconds, they can be pretty poetic.

Even with these jitters, they know they have to get these letters completed.  Because they need to tell Garcia how they are so happy that she is unafraid to butt heads with them about, well, everything.  And they need to tell Morgan how thankful they are that he never ran away, even when they were actively trying to shove him aside.

Because six months is an accomplishment, especially in a career field that a stray bullet or an emotional breakdown can permanently sideline a person.

As their eyes began to prick with tears thinking about it, they realized that they could probably get away with typing the letters.  They’d still read their emotion in it.

 

*

**“Boys Don’t Cry” by The Cure (Morgan/Garcia-centric)**

 

It’s one thing to avoid formally coming out as queer.  Morgan was a master of that.  He just so happened to be dating someone who didn’t identify with any gender.  So he was, for all intents and purposes, not straight.  It was simple enough, and nobody minded.

But trying to talk about the other part of him.  The gender part of him.  That was a bit difficult.

He didn’t want to blame his partners on it.  He didn’t want to make it sound like you could just catch being transgender.  Reid would probably verbally attack him until they turned purple talking about research that made it obvious that was impossible.  But in many ways, being with two partners who were transgender was enough to realize that maybe he didn’t have as firm of a grip on his gender identity as he thought he did.

“So what’s going on?  It sounded urgent,” Garcia asked.  She placed her hand carefully on his, running her thumb against his thumb.

“Uh, I’m pretty sure I’m not cis,” he confessed, thankful that Reid stomping around in another room was enough to make it too loud for them to overhear.

“We can work with that,” Garcia said, grinning devilishly, “Welcome to the club.”


End file.
